


Ember

by occasionalphantomfiction (SemiRetiredAuthor)



Series: Phanniemay 2016 [4]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Dark Past, F/M, Phanniemay, Phanniemay 2016, Phanniemay16, Skulker in the background, Skulker is a good boyfriend for Ember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 00:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12569644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SemiRetiredAuthor/pseuds/occasionalphantomfiction
Summary: All Ember had ever wanted was to be loved.





	Ember

All Ember had ever wanted was to be loved.

Her human life had ended much earlier than most, and she couldn’t honestly say that she regretted that. She’d grown up with a single mother, never knowing who her father was, and she was still very young when she remembered her mother first telling her that she herself had been an accident. This was a statement that returned every time the two had an argument. As a young teen, it hadn’t taken much thinking to recognize the implication that it hadn’t been a happy accident. Once, when her mother had had far too much to drink, she’d cried to the girl, lamenting the man she lost when she’d become pregnant, and Ember blamed herself ever since.

At the beginning of her life, she’d believed that deep down, her mother still loved her, but that belief didn’t last more than a few years. She’d thrown herself into making friends at school after she realized how her mother likely truly felt, looking for anyone who would like her at all. She made several friends, but each one only lasted for a few days to a few weeks before they left her. Sometimes, they’d just stop “having time” to do things with her and would fade away slowly. Others would be more upfront with her with varying explanations, all centering around how she was being too clingy and wasn’t being her own person. Eventually, it was common knowledge that Ember was the girl to avoid in school in order to head off a creepy and obsessive friendship.

She’d eventually noticed that no one was willing to talk to her, no matter who she tried meeting. She tried to get closer to her teachers, but she’d never really been good at most school subjects, and most of the teachers just weren’t interested in spending extra time with such a mediocre student. She’d finally followed the advice that came from her ended friendships and took up playing guitar to spend all the free time she had. Some days, she couldn’t face another day of no one caring about her, and would drive her problems away, spending hours with just herself and whatever mind-altering substance she could find, lying hidden away from prying eyes in the park down the street from her house. During high school, she’d finally given up on living, but she didn’t like to think about that, even so many years after her death.

In her afterlife, she suddenly had much more control over how her life went. It only took a few minutes after realizing she’d become a ghost before she learned to force her will on her own body. Gone was the style she’d had in life, a rather plain look forced upon her by her mother, who would only buy her the cheapest clothes from thrift stores and bargain bins. In its place, she’d decided to adopt the more revealing looks of the sexed-up rock stars she’d always loved so much. Maybe people might love her now that she looked so much nicer.

She was able to become acquainted with some of the other ghosts, which was better than what she could say she’d managed in her human life. It was one of her early acquaintances who’d made her realize that her source of power was hearing her own name. A hunter who went by the name of Skulker in death had called out to her one day to get her attention, and she could feel the energy crackle to life inside of her. While she’d liked her other ghostly acquaintances, none of them had ever sounded so excited or happy to see her, and it didn’t take long for the two of them to start dating.

There hadn’t been anything particularly attractive about him per se when she’d met him, but suddenly she found a million different aspects to love. Nothing made her feel better than their nightly ritual.

“Say my name,” she’d say, when what she really wanted to say was, “Do you love me?”

“Ember,” he’d whisper back, somehow knowing exactly what she really meant every time, but too afraid to respond to the hidden question.

It wasn’t exactly what she really wanted from their relationship, but she was still happy. Maybe someone finally loved her, even if it had taken her death for it to happen.


End file.
